Harry Potter: A Collection of Stories
by Boltstriker
Summary: Just some Harry Potter stories that are fun to write. Enjoy!
1. Duel of the Dumbledores

Duel of the Dumbledores

I'm branching out a bit from just Ancient Gods. Enjoy my take on the duel between Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore, and Aberforth Dumbledore.

"Where are we Albus?" asked Gellert Grindelwald.

"It's a forest clearing near my birthplace," said Albus Dumbledore.

The forest looked entirely familiar to Albus, and he looked around at the large pine and fir trees surrounding him. Behind him stood Gellert, tall and firm, and Aberforth, lean and hunched over. Aberforth was supporting Ariana, who had suffered an outburst of magic moments before, which is why Albus needed to Apparate away.

"Albus, this is what's wrong with the world," Gellert said in a whisper, "Squibs are dangerous and need protection."

"Don't call my sister a Squib," said Albus defiantly.

"Albus, it's for the Greater Good. If we go through with our plans, we can get Ariana proper protection, instead of being locked in a cellar," Gellert offered.

"Gellert, about that, I can't go through with our plans. Wizards are born with power, not given it, and that means that instead of ruling Muggles, we must protect them. Your plans, no matter how great the good, involve harsh treatment of those without magical gifts. It just seems unfair," Albus said reluctantly.

As Gellert and Albus argued, Aberforth and Ariana sat down on a log.

"I want to see Mummy," Ariana whispered.

"You can't, she . . . she's gone," Aberforth choked.

"When can I see her?" asked Ariana.

"I don't know, Ariana. I don't know," Aberforth said woefully.

"Why are they fighting?" Ariana asked, pointing at Gellert and Albus. "No fighting!" she shouted.

"Ariana, it'll be okay. They'll stop fighting," Aberforth lied.

A cry of "_Reducto_" was heard, and Aberforth ran to Albus and Gellert. Ariana was left alone on the log, twiddling her thumbs.

"I'll kill your Squib sister!" cried Gellert.

"How dare you?" Aberforth bellowed. "_Confringo_!"

"So this is how it is?" asked Gellert, "A two-on-one duel?"

Aberforth and Albus raised their wands, the words "I'll kill your Squib sister" still ringing in their ears.

"Fine," Gellert said as pointed his wand at Aberforth, "_Crucio_."

Aberforth writhed in pain, screaming and roaring. Ariana looked at him from afar in horror, tears streaming down her eyes. Albus shot various beams of light at Gellert, and Grindelwald the same. The clearing was full of utterances of "_Expelliarmus_," "_Incendio_," and "_Stupefy_" from Albus and "_Crucio_" from Gellert. Ariana rushed to Aberforth's side, but she was cast out of the way by Gellert.

"Albus, you're making a terrible mistake," Gellert challenged.

"No, you are," Albus panted.

The two ran through the forest, still casting spells at each other, until they finally stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking Mould-on-the-Wold. Aberforth and Ariana ran after them, trying to break up the fight.

"_Avada Kedavra_," screamed Gellert as he shot green light at Albus.

"_Impedimenta_," cried back Albus.

The two streams of magic met in the middle, producing a sort of golden ball of energy. Aberforth joined Albus's side and raised his wand to defeat Gellert.

"No," said Albus as he struggled to keep his spell going, "don't kill him."

"He dies here, Albus. He deserves it," Aberforth said with not the slightest bit of unwillingness.

Gellert lowered his wand slowly, and Albus called off his spell.

"You want to try and kill me, Aberforth? Let's see who dies today," he said. He turned to Ariana and shouted "_Reducto!_"

"You vile monster," cried Albus, "You dare attack a defenseless young girl? This is the flaw in your plan, Gellert; no one will ever let you hurt those without proper means of self-defense."

Aberforth caught Ariana's limp, but still breathing, body, bellowing swears at Gellert.

"Albus, you've reached my last nerve," Gellert said.

"And you have too," Albus replied.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" they both cried in unison.

Two green streams of light spewed forth from either wand, both emanating a force of evil, like the magic itself knew what it was called forth to do.

"STOP!" shouted Ariana, who was now standing upright. She held out her hands, and an invisible wall pushed both Gellert and Albus down to the ground. The two dueling wizards' hands slipped, and their curses flew straight at the young girl.

"ARIANA!" screamed Aberforth as he looked down at the dead body of his sister.

Gellert Grindelwald Disapparated, and Albus muttered under his breath, "You'll pay for this one day."

"Ariana . . . Ariana," Aberforth bawled.

"Aberforth, I'm sorry. It's all my fault," Albus said.

"You're damn right it's your fault!" cried Aberforth, turning to Albus, angrier than he'd ever been in his life. "All this time you've spent with that monster, you've been blinded. Our family has fallen apart and you lost all sight of reality. Father's been locked up and wasted in Azkaban, Mother died, and now your ignorance and blindness killed Ariana! You've always been praised by those who think they matter, but you don't care about those who really do! Go off to Greece or wherever with Doge, because I don't want to see you ever again!"

"I was blinded, it's true. Blinded by love," Albus said.

"I DON'T CARE!" bellowed Aberforth. "If it's truly love that blinded you, it's time to rethink your feelings."

Albus Disapparated to somewhere unknown to Aberforth, and the two never resumed a relationship until much, much later.

"Ariana, you'll see Mummy now," whispered Aberforth, putting all his emotions into those five words.


	2. Flight of the Phoenix

Flight of the Phoenix

Here's another Harry Potter story for you Muggles. _Enjoyus Maximus!_

Albus Dumbledore lay dead on the ground in the Entrance Courtyard, his robes of midnight blue billowing lightly in the wind. Minerva McGonagall led the students of Hogwarts to their dormitories, and a fiery blur flew down to the Headmaster's limp body. Fawkes the phoenix cawed and started singing a sad, yet inspiring song that seemed to both strike fear and hope in the hearts of many. A silver tear landed on Dumbledore's body, and the drop of magical phoenix tears dried onto his robes, not even being cleaned for his funeral. Fawkes flew north of the castle, still singing his awe-inspiring lament, and he ascended above the clouds. For nearly ten years, the phoenix was never seen.

Fawkes descended on the Muggle street of Grimmauld Place as Harry Potter, his wife Ginny, and son James carried a baby into the magical house of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He entered the door just before it closed, making sure to keep silent as he gingerly strutted through the halls.

"What are we going to name him, Harry?" asked Ginny, relieved that her baby was just born.

"He should be named Tinier James," said two-year-old James proudly.

"That's lovely James, but you're already named James, my sweetheart," Ginny darted around his suggestion.

Kreacher entered the hallway where Fawkes was eavesdropping, mumbling and talking to the locket hung around his name

"Master Regulus would not be happy about the bird in his house," Kreacher mumbled, "But Master Harry surely wouldn't mind," he added, just in case Harry was listening.

Fawkes squawked quietly, lighting on fire to scare Kreacher off.

"Filthy phoenix, animal of Dumbledore," the house elf grumbled miserably.

"Did you see that?" Harry asked, gesturing toward the spot where Fawkes ignited.

Fawkes flew up the stairwell, hiding from the trained eyes of the new Head of the Auror Office.

"It's probably nothing, dear," Ginny assured him.

"I don't like fire," James offered innocently.

The three Potters walked back into the dining room, and Fawkes hid behind a cupboard, still listening to the conversation.

"We should name him Remus," suggested Ginny, "We've already named James after your father and Sirius."

"Teddy's middle name is already Remus," Harry reminded her.

"Why don't we name him Severus, Harry? You've done so much to spread his intentions in the war," suggested Ginny instead.

"I don't like Severus," said James.

Fawkes crept around the hall and accidentally crashed into a suit of armor, cawing loudly.

"What was that?" asked Harry as he pulled out his wand. He approached the suit of armor and when he saw the movement of Fawkes's tail, he yelled "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

"Harry, what were you thinking?" Ginny cried as she raised the rigid bird.

"I'm sorry Ginny, it's a force of habit," Harry pleaded. "Wait a minute . . ." he added.

"Is that Fawkes?" Ginny asked in awe.

"You killed the birdie!" James shouted.

"_Finite,_" Ginny whispered.

Fawkes cawed in relief, and Harry asked him, "Fawkes, why are you here?"

"You know the birdie?" James asked in disbelief.

Harry held out his hand, disregarding his son's comment, and Fawkes hopped onto his arm.

"You're here for a reason," Harry assumed, and Fawkes nodded his feathery head. "The baby," he guessed.

"We are not naming our son Fawkes," Ginny said promptly.

"I know, but I have a different name," said Harry.

"What are you naming him?" James asked, interested in the name of his baby brother.

"I think we should name him Albus, Albus Severus," Harry suggested, "If your mother says it's alright," he added shortly thereafter.

"Albus Severus Potter, for two Headmasters of Hogwarts," Ginny mused.

"The two bravest people I've ever met," Harry added.

"James," the two said in unison, "Meet your younger brother, Albus."

Fawkes squawked in happiness and bowed to the newborn, as if to say "I'll see you soon." The phoenix flew out the door of 12 Grimmauld Place and back to Hogwarts, where he was greeted by Professor McGonagall and welcomed back as an old friend. Fawkes lived out the rest of his immortal life at the school, knowing that his true master was honored and remembered by the one person he cared about the most, and on the first day of Albus Severus Potter's tenure at Hogwarts, Fawkes was sure to greet him.


	3. In Noctem

In Noctem

A story based on the deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Remember, I never will forget.

Draco Malfoy awoke from his bed in the Slytherin dormitories at ten o'clock at night and headed for the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor corridor. It was the night he had to kill Albus Dumbledore, but he was incredibly scared. Draco did not want to do it, but the Dark Lord would kill him and his family if Dumbledore was not dead by the night's end. In the Room of Requirement, the Vanishing Cabinet he was working on for the past year lay dusty and decrepit. Several voices were heard inside, and Draco reluctantly opened the door.

"Draco, the Dark Lord will reward you beyond measure," said Bellatrix Lestrange. "Let us go, there is a headmaster to murder."

"Miss Bellatrix, can we kill some kids too?" asked Fenrir Greyback.

"Don't kill Potter, he belongs to the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix chided angrily.

"As you wish, Miss Bellatrix," Fenrir bowed insincerely.

Bellatrix and Fenrir exited the room, along with Amycus and Alecto Carrow. As madness ensued, Draco sat down in the Great Hall, knowing he just caused the fall of Hogwarts, his home. As a pure-blood, Draco always considered Malfoy Manor his home, as Hogwarts was full of inferior wizards and witches, but at this point, he saw Hogwarts as his home. Soon, the Ministry of Magic would fall, and soon the Dark Lord would rule the world. Draco reluctantly accepted the task to kill Dumbledore, but once he was dead, nothing would be the same. The blonde Slytherin noticed the Frog Choir practicing for a song, a soothing and haunting melody.

"_Carry my soul into the night,_

_May the stars guide my way._

_I glory in the sight,_

_As darkness takes the day._"

How fitting, thought Draco. The choir began to sing in Latin, and Draco found particular meaning in the repeated verse. He had been taught Latin at a young age, yet all of the spells taught at Hogwarts were Latin-based incantations. Now, at the time of Hogwarts's fall, the words of the song washed over him.

"_Ferte in noctem animam meam,_

_Illustrent stellae viam meam._

_Aspectu illo glorior,_

_Dum capit nox diem._

_Cantate vitae canticum,_

_Sine dolore actae._

_Dicite eis quos amabam,_

_Me nunquam obliturum._"

The Frog Choir switched back to English, singing the last four Latin verses once more.

"_Sing a song, a song of life,_

_Lived without regret._

_Tell the ones, the ones I loved,_

_I never will forget._"

In the last line, Draco Malfoy's life flashed before his eyes. It was not he who had lived without regret, it was the one who ordered him to do such a terrible act. The ones he loved were at Hogwarts, and he would never forget what he must do. Draco, for one of only times in his life, cried, and the Frog Choir finished their song with a final line.

"_Never will forget._"

Professor Flitwick walked over to Draco, and asked, "Is there a problem, Mr. Malfoy?"

"No sir, there isn't" Draco lied.

"You'd best be off to bed," Flitwick advised him.

Draco exited the Great Hall and climbed up to Astronomy Tower. Above him, the Dark Mark shone menacingly over the heads of the aggressors and defenders. Someone had died, and it was all his fault. Dumbledore and Malfoy met on the top of the tower, and the headmaster tried to help him.

"I don't want your help! Don't you see?! I have to do this! I have to kill you . . . or he's gonna kill me!" Draco yelled.

"You are no assassin, Draco," said the old man.

Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters joined Draco on the tower, along with Professor Snape.

"Do it Draco, and the Dark Lord will reward you," said Bellatrix.

Draco lowered his wand, and Snape rushed in front of him.

"Severus . . . please," Dumbledore pleaded.

"_Avada Kedavra,_" Snape said, and Dumbledore tumbled from the tower, his midnight blue robes billowing in the wind.

Bellatrix led Draco and the others on a "victory" march out of the castle, wreaking havoc everywhere she could. Draco had let his home be ruined, and he couldn't help silently weeping on the way out. Harry Potter followed them to the grounds, and for once, Draco didn't feel any hatred toward him. Potter should feel angry, as he had let Dumbledore die. Furthermore, he caused Dumbledore's death!

Off in the distance, the Dark Mark was surrounded by white light, and Draco knew he could not return to Hogwarts the next year. He never will forget, his fellows never will forget, his mentors and superiors never will forget, and Hogwarts never will forget.

"_Never will forget,_" seemed to echo the castle as Draco left it.

Footnote:

The song In Noctem by Nicholas Cooper is an actual song with those lyrics. The Latin and English mean exactly the same, and the English is meant to be sung by sopranos and altos, while the Latin by tenors and baritones. The Oxford China Choir was chosen to sing the song in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and it can be heard in the deleted scene entitled In Noctem, as well as the OST track of the same name. Personally, it is one of my favorite Harry Potter tracks, the others including Buckbeak's Flight of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Fireworks of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the former being composed by John Williams, and the latter by Nicholas Cooper.

Ever since I came across the song, it kind of spoke to me. It is a haunting and slow piece, and the Latin verses really increase the ambience. I've had trouble in the past with emotional darkness, both in my mind and my personal matters, and sometimes I really wanted the stars to guide my way. This song is indeed a song of life, and the times it reminds me of never will I forget. I sometimes find myself humming the chant-like Latin of In Noctem, and it seems to calm me down and haunt me at the same time. The choice of words brings back memories, both good and bad. _Me nunquam obliturum, _I never will forget. Really, I never will erase, or eradicate. I never will fully get rid of these memories, so in the meantime, I can only hope that my soul will be carried _in noctem_, into the night.


	4. Snape Never Says Mudblood

An Alternate Harry Potter: Snape Never Says Mudblood

"Miss Granger, I require your Time-Turner immediately," said Professor Snape.

Hermione Granger fetched her Time-Turner from her dormitory and gave it to her least favorite professor. Snape had a realization of what he could do with such an object, saving Harry Potter, Lily Potter, and many other lives.

"175,200 turns to go," Snape whispered after Hermione exited his office.

Hours passed, but Snape finally turned the Time-Turner 175,200 times, sending him back twenty years in the past. He saw himself standing by the Black Lake, looking at a group of fifth year students. Among them were James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans, and himself.

Watching from among the trees, careful not to be seen, he saw James Potter lift his younger self into the air, exposing his underwear. Lily Evans dashed out to save her best friend, and the older Snape knew what was about to happen.

"I wouldn't take help from-" shouted the teenager Snape, but he interrupted by the older Snape, who had cast a Silencing Charm.

"From what, Snivellus?" Sirius Black sneered.

"I don't need help from-" Snape-the-teenager yelled, but once was again was cut off by another Silencing Charm.

"Having a bit of trouble speaking? Does Snivellus need some water? Here!" James Potter said menacingly, and with a cry of _Aguamenti_, poured water directly into Snape-the-teenager's throat.

"You insolent pig, James Potter!" screamed Lily Evans, interfering with Potter's spell.

"I'll stop if you go out with me, Evans," James said, whisking his hair back.

"You're pathetic, Potter. I'll sooner join You-Know-Who than date you," Lily snapped.

"Maybe Snivellus would like to join you," taunted Sirius Black, but Lily held her wand to his neck.

"Call him that again, Black, and I'll tear apart your skull," Lily said quietly through gritted teeth.

"Is there a problem here, Miss Evans?" asked a stern voice, the voice of Minerva McGonagall. "I am ashamed of this. Ten points from Gryffindor."

"Professor, if you would understand, Potter and Black attacked us," the younger Snape protested.

"Is that so? Well, Potter and Black will both have detentions, and maybe Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew would like to join them," McGonagall said sternly.

"We didn't have anything to do with it, Professor," Lupin said confidently.

"Sure you didn't, you werewolf," the adult Snape whispered under his breath, but evidently McGonagall heard him.

"Who's there?" she asked, "Show yourself or I will report you to Professor Dumbledore."

Fumbling with his hands, Snape the adult turned the Time-Turner forwards six years, to the night when James and Lily Potter had been killed.

Snape Apparated to Godric's Hollow to find the house in which the Potters were murdered by Lord Voldemort completely deserted, as if no one had ever lived there. He approached one of the villagers wearing long robes.

"Do you know who Lily Potter is?" Snape asked.

"I don't know a Lily Potter. I know a James Potter, though – he lives up in Scotland, doesn't he?" the villager replied.

"Is there another Lily, perhaps a Lily Evans?" Snape asked.

"Lily Evans? She hasn't been called that in years. She's Lily Snape now, ain't she?" the villager said.

A feeling of overwhelming happiness warmed Snape's heart, and it drove him to ask a third question.

"Does she have any children with this Snape fellow?" Snape asked, trying to keep his identity a secret.

"From what I hear, she and her husband have a little toddler. Named him Harry, I think," the villager said.

Snape Apparated to Hogsmeade immediately, thinking that he would find himself teaching at Hogwarts. He ran briskly to the castle to see his colleagues in his later life; Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Quirinus Quirrell (who died ten years later, as he foolishly accepted "help" from Voldemort), Aurora Sinistra, Sybill Trelawney, and Albus Dumbledore. The Halloween feast was going on, and it was a surprise to see such an odd visitor in the Great Hall.

"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore," Snape said, and Dumbledore stood up and directed Snape to the nearby trophy room.

"What brings you here, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"Don't I teach here?" Snape asked nervously.

"No, I don't believe so. Unless, of course, you would like to teach here. Say, Severus, I thought you would be home with Lily, celebrating Halloween with young Harry," Dumbledore said, puzzled by Snape's assumption. "Severus, you look different. Did you do something with your hair?"

"Never mind that. So, tonight, Harry wasn't attacked by the Dark Lord? Lily wasn't either? And James Potter too?" Snape wondered.

"Voldemort attack Harry and Lily, or James Potter for that matter? I thought you hated James Potter, Severus," said Dumbledore, even more confused.

"Speaking of James Potter, his friend Sirius Black isn't in Azkaban?" Snape asked, wanting to know more about the future he created.

"No, but his friend Peter Pettigrew is. Professor Trelawney and I saw him eavesdropping on us in the Hog's Head during her interview, and next thing we know, he attacks Sirius Black and blows up a street," Dumbledore said cheerily. "You remember what I said about that interview, right?"

"There was a prophecy made, about either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom," Snape said absentmindedly.

"Harry . . . Harry Potter? Your child's name is Harry Snape, I thought. Are you alright, Severus?" Dumbledore asked confusedly.

"Professor, can I trust you not to reveal this information to anyone?" Snape asked.

"Most definitely, my friend," Dumbledore said, intrigued.

"I used a Time-Turner to come back to the day when I almost called Lily Evans a – well, you know, the word for a Muggle-born – and I stopped myself from doing it. In the timeline I came from, I said it, and Lily Evans married James Potter. Later, on this very night, they were murdered by the Dark Lord, and only their son, Harry Potter, survived because of a Killing Curse rebounding on the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord was ripped from his body, but came back through Professor Quirrell ten years later, and both were dispelled again by Harry Potter. Next, the Dark Lord's younger self came back to life through a diary and opened the Chamber of Secrets again, but was once again killed by Potter. The next year, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, and he was innocent of the murders he was accused of committing, but Potter helped him escape from the Ministry. The next year, the Triwizard Tournament took place again and Bartemius Crouch Jr. made it so that the Dark Lord came back with the blood of Potter. It was at this time that I decided I needed to use a Time-Turner to change the past and stop these terrible events from happening."

"What else happened in this alternate universe?" Dumbledore asked, seemingly believing Snape's story.

"I was a Death Eater, but I turned spy for you and the Order. You kept me to protect Harry Potter from the Dark Lord," Snape explained.

"A diary, you say. And Quirrell? I have a theory for this, but in the meantime, tell me things that I can prevent with your forewarning," Dumbledore instructed.

"I can give you names. There is Igor Karkaroff, for one – in my timeline he rose to Headmaster of Durmstrang. Rosier, Crabbe, Goyle, the Lestranges, the aforementioned Bartemius Crouch Jr., Travers, Avery, Mulciber, Yaxley, Fenrir Greyback, the Carrows, Nott, the list goes on. Lucius Malfoy, find him and force him to give you Tom Riddle's diary. Use the diary to clear Hagrid's name and let him get back his magic priveleges. Quirrell, never let him go to Albania for any circumstance. You know Cornelius Fudge? Make sure he isn't elected Minister – he's not exactly the strongest candidate in the race. Barty Crouch Sr., confront him and make his son die in Azkaban for all I care. You know, maybe you can ask my younger self to teach here, I'm sure I'd really enjoy it," said Snape.

"Severus, I think you may have just saved the entire wizarding world. Go back to the year you came from, and merge with yourself. We'll have a cup of tea," Dumbledore said.

Snape turned the Time-Turner back to the night when he took the Time-Turner from Hermione Granger. He found himself in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, merging with himself, memories of his past and present universes combined. Instantly he knew that he had taught Defense Against the Dark Arts for twelve years after a brief spell as Potions professor. He knew that his son, Harry, looked like Lily – even the eyes – and he was sorted into Gryffindor. He did indeed make friends with Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, like in the past universe, and that Harry found it great that his father taught at Hogwarts. He suddenly knew that James Potter found love elsewhere, and that Sirius Black and Potter finally got their comeuppance for bullying Snape throughout his schooling years in the form of having to register as Animagi. Snape himself felt his hair become soft and smooth, rather than slick and greasy. He looked in the mirror to see himself as a happy man of thirty-five years old, rather than the sallow-faced mess he was. Immediately, he ran to Dumbledore's office.

"Good evening, Severus," said Dumbledore.

"It's the night when I took the Time-Turner. Please return this to Hermione Granger as soon as possible, Albus," Snape said ecstatically.

"Wonderful! I'm sure you now know what happened of Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore said, smiling.

Snape reached into his mind and remembered a conversation between him and Dumbledore about the fall of Lord Voldemort. It played in his head quickly.

"_With your information about Tom Riddle's diary and the story of a young Regulus Black, I found out about Lord Voldemort's six Horcruxes – yes, _six_, Severus. I have destroyed them all, and I destroyed him in what will soon be a well-publicized duel. I do expect that Rita Skeeter will bastardize it, calling me an 'old codger' or something of the sorts in the process. Hagrid's name has been cleared, and he will have gotten a new wand by now from Ollivander. I have also convinced Minister Bagnold to rid Azkaban of the dementors, and she actually called a bunch of Order members to cast Patronuses throughout the prison. It was much fun, Severus, I tell you._"

"_I do not understand what you are saying, Albus._"

"_But you will in due time – in due time indeed._"

"Severus, come back to us," Dumbledore said, snapping his fingers, and Snape was pulled back to reality.

"Harry, my son, he's safe, correct?" Snape asked.

"Yes, and he has made great friends with-" Dumbledore started.

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Is he Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" Snape finished.

"Yes, and Minerva has constantly told me he flies excellently, and I have seen it a few times," Dumbledore said happily. "From what you told me, I am sure there is one more question you will ask me, seeing as your memories will not have fully conjoined yet."

"His forehead . . . is there a scar?" Snape asked.

"Harry Snape does not have a scar upon his forehead, nor does Neville Longbottom," said Dumbledore calmly. "I suggest you do not reveal your journey to your son until he is older, but please do inform Lily, and send her my best."

"I must try something," said Snape. "_Expecto patronum_!"

A silvery doe erupted from Snape's wand, and it galloped around the room before dissipating.

"Love is a powerful thing, Severus."


	5. A Discussion of Hallows and Horcruxes

A Discussion of Hallows and Horcruxes

This is going to be a little spiel on the Deathly Hallows and Voldemort's Horcruxes, and the symbolism behind them all. Most of this will be possible connections I find through basic human nature, and a few could actually be true.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I find it curious that the two most magical numbers are represented in the forms of powerful magic objects; Hallows and Horcruxes. Harry Potter is shown to be the representative of the Hallows and therefore the number 3. First of all, it would be helpful to note that Harry, Ron, and Hermione make up the Golden _Trio_, and that's not all. Harry ends up having three children with Ginny, his immediate family is made up of three people (James, Lily, and himself), Harry faces three tasks at the Triwizard Tournament, et cetera. Furthermore, there are also three competing schools in said tournament. Other instances of the number 3 pop up a lot, and these few examples have relationships with the Hallows. For instance, Albus Dumbledore is one of three Dumbledore siblings, each bearing similarities to each of the Hallows. Albus possesses the Elder Wand due to his quest for power at an early age, Aberforth would be fit to own the Resurrection Stone as he experienced the most grief from his sister's death, and Ariana was always hidden away, making her either fit to possess the Invisibility Cloak, or be hidden under it against her will. Draco Malfoy, brief master of the Elder Wand, made a three-person group of his own with Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. Even Voldemort himself draws an unintentional connection to the number 3, having made objects from three Hogwarts founders into Horcruxes.

This draws us into the next discussion: the number 7. Seven is a lot easier to find in the magic world. Of course, Voldemort creates 7 Horcruxes, but his original intention is for his soul to be split into seven pieces. There are seven Harry Potter books (stupid David Yates and his splitting Deathly Hallows into two movies), seven players on a Quidditch team, seven core classes at Hogwarts, seven years of wizarding education at Hogwarts, seven floors of corridors in the Staircase Tower at Hogwarts, seven Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, and the list goes on. It is very peculiar that Voldemort only created the accidental Horcrux, Harry, because his soul was so unstable at seven separate parts. However, a discussion of numerology is best kept until later, as the Horcruxes themselves must be talked about first. The Horcruxes, in order of creation, are Tom Riddle's diary, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, Salazar Slytherin's locket, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, Harry Potter, and Nagini. But wait, I hear you shouting, if Nagini was only created as a Horcrux after Harry became one, Voldemort's soul was only split into six parts before Harry became one. That should serve as a great segway into the discussion of numerology, as well as odd and even numbers.

It is very odd that magic seems to favor odd numbers in ways no one in their right mind would try to discover. Even numbers get the short end of the stick, as shown in the event where James and Lily Potter are killed, leaving Harry, the only survivor, a Horcrux. Voldemort's soul was split into _six_ – not seven – parts when the First Wizarding War ended. In the time period between 1981 and 1994, Voldemort had achieved his goal of splitting his soul into the most powerful magical number – seven – pieces. However, Voldemort was ignorant in many respects. He could not feel love or friendship, and was at least borderline sociopathic, at most a complete psychopath that most people would have chucked in the asylum as soon as he hit the age of seventeen. He also did not know that six was a terrible number, being related to Satan and Doomsday and whatnot, and to run around trying to destroy the child that would one day be your downfall with your soul split into six pieces might possibly have been one of the most immature and moronic things Voldemort had ever done in his life. But he was ripped from his body, and during this state of painful piece, he was split into seven pieces. In fact, he was split into seven pieces only during this state, as he once again foolishly did not know the consequences of his quest for immortality. In the summer of 1994, Voldemort murdered Bertha Jorkins and used Nagini as his, unknowingly, seventh Horcrux. With Nagini a Horcrux, her milk could help nurse Voldemort back to life until he could be brought back with flesh, blood, and bone (hey, what do you know, it's that pesky number three again). But, again, magic does not favor even numbers, and the higher we go, the more dangerous it is. Eight is a weird number, for the shape it takes in written form is a vertical transformation of infinity, and this could not be any more metaphorical. If eight is the antithesis, or at the very least, reverse, of infinity, it should come as no surprise that Voldemort was killed with eight soul pieces under his belt. But again, seven Horcruxes, not eight or six. Of course, seven Horcruxes must make it magically powerful, right? But remember, Horcruxes are an invention of supreme and pure evil, and the higher you go, the more dangerous it is. If Voldemort had even tried to create another Horcrux, he would have been ripped from reality then and there, but the magical properties of the number seven protected him from sudden demise.

You have not explained to us how other numbers are magically powerful, just three, seven, six and eight, I hear you say. Let's start from the beginning with one. One is an often overlooked number – it's just one, a single entity. However, its being often overlooked draws parallels with a certain one – the Chosen One, if you will. Harry Potter is the single remaining member of the Potter family, immediate or otherwise, and is often referred to as the Chosen One. His parents were killed and he became a Horcrux at the age of one (coincidentally in 1981), he is introduced to the wizarding world at the age of eleven (that's two ones for the illiterate folk out there – also 1991, again coincidentally [I think not!]), and in relation to the Deathly Hallows, (in the movies, at least, as I know he uses the Invisibility Cloak in the book during the forest sacrifice thing) Harry possesses only one Hallow at each time he possesses one. Two, the next number, is a very peculiar number, in that it can be both good and bad. Voldemort only possessed two of the Deathly Hallows (though he was never the master of the Elder Wand, he still took ownership of it, and he also had possession of the Resurrection Stone through Marvolo's ring), but Harry lost two parents, making the number sort of bittersweet. In my opinion, the line that best describes the nature of the number two is "Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives." A bit more on three before we move on: There were three people in Limbo-King's Cross after Harry was "killed" during the Battle of Hogwarts; Harry, Dumbledore, and Voldemort, the three people who are most related to the Hallows. Also, in relation to death and the Hallows, the only three known "Masters of Death" (that is to say, owner and master of the Deathly Hallows) are Harry, Dumbledore, and Death itself, though only Death possessed them all at the same time. That shows that no one can truly be a "Master of Death" in the way of conquering death, but they can indeed "depart this world as equals." Funnily enough, I thought, is that three can also be bad, as I found when remembering the three Ministers of Magic during Harry Potter. Cornelius Fudge is a blithering idiot who can't tell right from wrong, or in the case of Voldemort's return, right from easy. Rufus Scrimgeour is a man who appears to be strong on the outside, but is instead insecure on the inside, as evidenced by his need to show the Ministry as the winning side, as well as imprisoning people who couldn't possibly be acting of their owning accord (*cough* Stan Shunpike *cough*). Pius Thicknesse, under Scrimgeour, was guilty of the same insecurity of reputation, and was highly susceptible, as shown when Yaxley Imperiused him and acted as Voldemort's de jure Minister of Magic. Four is another even number, bringing way for more death and despair. There are four Triwizard champions in the Goblet of Fire, but only three survives. There are four Hogwarts founders, but only three ended up staying at the school. There are four Hogwarts Houses, but only three of them are primarily focused on fighting evil, rather than indulging in it. In the Lego Harry Potter games, it is notable that each game (Years 1-4 and Years 5-7) include the events of four Harry Potter movies, the first four marking Voldemort's return to the world, and the second four marking Voldemort's rise to power. There are also four balls in Quidditch, a game in which many terrible events happen to Harry (Quirrell tries to jinx his broom, Dobby bewitches a Bludger, the dementors attack, Umbridge bans him after his fight with Malfoy, and Cormac is just a git). Now for five, which is powerful in its own right as an odd number, but is honestly less significant than three or seven. There are five students in both the boys and girls dormitory for Harry's year (Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville in the boys dormitory, Hermione, Parvati, Lavender, Fay Dunbar and her friend in the girls dormitory), and five types of spells (from what I know, anyway – Transfiguration, Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, and Curses). Six doesn't have much to mention aside from the already mentioned six Horcruxes problem from before, but it is worth mentioning that there were six combatants on each side at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries before the Order arrived, and in that battle the prophecy was destroyed, leaving both sides supposedly in the dark. I won't retell the properties of seven, since I've done that already, nor will I with eight. This certainly explains a bit of the numerology surrounding the Harry Potter series, but there is actually one thing I would like to mention one thing I forgot earlier.

Before Voldemort made Nagini into a Horcrux, something happened that he may or may not have known. Inside the Chamber of Secrets, Harry successfully destroyed Tom Riddle's diary, the first Horcrux, meaning that for a period of about a year, Voldemort only had five Horcruxes. When Dumbledore first learned of Voldemort's Horcruxes, the latter had only seven soul pieces. When Harry first learned of them, Voldemort's soul was once again in six pieces, the same as when he destroyed the first Horcrux. Speaking of Horcruxes, it is funny to note that four of the Horcrux destroyers had absolutely no idea what they were doing by destroying the Horcruxes, though Harry eventually learned later. But indeed, Harry had no clue what the diary was, nor did Neville know what Nagini was, Crabbe know what the diadem was, Voldemort know what Harry was. Of course, none of this mattered, because Voldemort died a mere mortal like everyone else.


	6. On Blood Purity

On Blood Purity

It's another discussion, so I hope you enjoy.

Blood purity – such a funny subject. Of course, it doesn't matter unless you're a racist pure-blood supremacist yourself, but I, being the lover of genetics I am, want to delve into the mysteries of it. There are three categories that you can fall into; the ever so specific pure-blood, the self-explanatory Muggle-born, and the extremely vague half-blood. Blood purity is based on the grandparents, and they give us a good idea of how to sort our magical friends. Pure-bloods are wizards or witches who are born to two pure-blood parents, and therefore the grandparents must be pure-blood as well. According to Cantankerus Nott and his list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, there are only twenty-eight pure-blood family. However, the list is inaccurate. First of all, it was written in the late 1800s, which means that families such as the Bulstrodes, Ollivanders, and Weasleys, which were pure-blood then, wouldn't have accounted for the half-bloods in their family now. The main examples of these three families are Millicent Bulstrode, born in 1980, the children of Ron (who are half-blood), Bill (who are one-sixteenth veela), Ginny (who are half-blood), and Percy (who are most likely half-blood) Weasley, and Garrick Ollivander, who was surprisingly born ten years before Nott's publication of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. The entire text of the Sacred Twenty-Eight can be found online, mind you, and while it does include twenty-five other mostly racist families, those were the only examples I could think of. The second problem is that it leaves out one family that we know is a respectable pure-blood family, the Potters, as evidenced by Dorea Black not being disowned when she married Charlus Potter. Furthermore, many other confirmed pure-blood families are not included on the directory, such as the Browns (Lavender Brown being a member), the Moodys (of which Alastor Moody is a member), or the Princes (Eileen Prince was a member). See, the problem with pure-bloods is that, like Hagrid said, there's not a wizard or witch alive today that isn't half-blood or less. If there are truly only twenty-eight pure-blood families left, then that must mean that hundreds of Death Eaters are lying about their blood status, much like our good friend Tom Marvolo My-mother-was-a-witch-but-my-father-was-a-Muggle Riddle.

The term Muggle-born must be simple enough, right? Two Muggles have a wizard for a kid. Simple enough, right? Well, first we must find out the genetics of magic. The dominant gene is, of course, magic, but when drawing a Punnett square, it is always possible for even two pure-bloods to possibly produce a Squib, or a wizard that is homozygous recessive. Back in the olden days, Squibs were forced to assimilate into Muggle society, meaning that they would no doubt marry a Muggle and have Muggle children. But, with that hidden magic gene, it could skip generations and generations before eventually producing a Muggle-born wizard or witch. Now for the tricky part: what if two Muggle-borns have a child. Well, if it is based on the grandparents, that child too is a Muggle-born. So, just for laughs, let's set up a simulation. Muggles Ann and Richard have a Muggle-born daughter Kim, who then marries another Muggle-born wizard Doug. Kim and Doug have a technically Muggle-born witch Lauren, who marries another second generation Muggle-born named Dominic. If Lauren and Dominic have a child Elias, is he still Muggle-born? Well, none of Elias's grandparents are Muggles, so he would be either half-blood or pure-blood, correct? But if you follow the pure-blood supremacist creed, Muggles and Muggle-borns are the same, so it honestly doesn't matter. Contrary to what some people might say, the pure-blood supremacists say that no new pure-blood families can be created.

Half-bloods are extremely vague, as they are anyone who is not specifically Muggle-born or pure-blood, yet is still at least a bit human. For instance, I will create more scenarios in which each of the offspring will be half-blood. Pure-blood witch Emma and Muggle Jack have a child, who is a half-blood. Emma then marries a Muggle-born Morgan after divorcing Jack, having a half-blood child named Greta with him. Greta then marries a half-blood wizard Taylor after a few years, having a half-blood child Nathan together. Nathan first marries a Muggle-born Pamela, having a half-blood child with her, then a Muggle Carly, having a half-blood child with her, and finally a pure-blood Erin, having a half-blood child together. These are all the purely human half-blood combinations, and many other scenarios can be set up with non-human creatures, such as veelas or giants. So, all in all, blood purity is sort of a stupid topic, and the only ones who care are Death Eaters and Cornelius Fudge, two entities who deserve to burn in hell.


	7. The Marauders and the Full Moon

The Marauders and the Full Moon

This is just a fun story about the Marauders in their sixth year when a surprise full moon appears, and well, you can figure out what happens next.

It was a breezy autumn eve, somewhere in mid-October. James Potter just finished a Transfiguration lesson with the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors.

"Hey Wormtail, how'd you feel about that lesson?" asked James.

Peter Pettigrew whimpered; their lesson was about turning rats into lockets.

"Prongs, are you excited for the next Hogsmeade trip?" asked Remus Lupin.

"It'll finally give me a chance to ask Evans out," James said confidently. He pulled out a Golden Snitch and started tossing it around.

"Not if Snivellus is around," Sirius Black reminded him.

"I wonder if she sees anything in him," said Remus.

"Not unless she's got a thing for greasy hair," James joked.

"Guys, we're going to be late for Herbology," said Peter nervously.

"_You're_ going to be late for Herbology. Prongs, Moony, and I dropped it, remember?" Sirius chided.

"More like Professor Sprout said Acceptable wasn't good enough for you and Prongs to continue," Remus corrected them.

"Why'd you drop it, Moony?" Peter asked.

"I see no point in it, unless there's a plant that can cure my lycanthropy," Remus said. "Anyway, while Wormtail is off in Herbology, I've got to get to Arithmancy, so I'll see you back in the common room."

The Marauders separated and parted their ways.

After James's Quidditch practice, the Marauders met up in the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer on the Hogsmeade weekend. James brought along the Snitch from practice, much to the anger of Madam Hooch. Naturally, girls flocked around James and the Marauders in the pub, but he brushed them off, as he had his sights on another customer.

"You were right, Padfoot. Snivellus is around," said James grittily. "What does she see in him?"

"I dunno. He's a big prat to everyone else," Sirius said affirmatively.

"Sounds a lot like Prongs," mumbled Remus.

"Who's got your wand in a twist, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," Remus grumbled. "Look, Evans is coming over. It's now or never, Prongs."

James ruffled his hair and put away the Snitch, striding over to Lily.

"How's it going, Evans?" James asked coolly.

Lily grimaced and turned to Professor Slughorn, who was talking with Madam Rosmerta on the other side of the bar.

As James kept waiting, he saw out of the corner of his eye Severus Snape walking towards him, wand in hand.

James whispered, "_Lapifors_," and Severus was transfigured into a rabbit. His wand dropped from his hand, and James used a silent Summoning Charm on it, stowing it in his pocket.

Lily turned around from Slughorn and saw Severus on the ground, angrily bouncing toward James.

"What did you do, Potter?" she yelled angrily.

"Your friend Snivellus here was going to hex me, so I returned the favor," James said calmly.

Professor Slughorn turned in his barstool, astonished at what he had heard. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter!" he said sternly, wriggling his walrus moustache.

James turned back to Lily, who was pointing her wand at Severus, trying to change him back.

"I thought you didn't like him, Evans," James said, watching Lily struggle.

"I like him more than you! You're pathetic, Potter, you know that?" Lily shouted, alerting the whole pub to the scuffle.

Remus walked up to help Lily, feeling bad for her. He pointed his wand at the angry rabbit and used a silent Homorphus Charm, and Severus was human once again.

"_Levicorpus_!" he yelled, and James was lifted off the ground.

Sirius ran up to James's aggressor, joining the duel. "_Flipendo_!" he shouted, and Severus was knocked back into a high-top table.

"_Sectumsempra_!" Severus bellowed, but James and Sirius blocked it with a Shield Charm.

Meanwhile, Lily and Slughorn were standing off to the side, desperately trying to deflect curses without hurting bystanders. Curses flew and jinxes soared, and all the while Peter and Remus were watching with delight. Unfortunately for the Marauders, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the Three Broomsticks, abhorred at what was before them.

"Potter! Black! Snape! What on Earth is going on in here?" McGonagall exclaimed.

"Professor," started Lily, "Potter transfigured Sev into a rabbit, and then they dueled."

"I did transfigure Snape back," interjected Remus.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin. As for you three, twenty points each and a detention for both of you. Mr. Filch will see you all tomorrow night in the seventh floor corridor to clean out a junk room," McGonagall said sternly.

"Horace, you witnessed this all and didn't do anything?" asked Dumbledore inquisitively.

"I tried, Albus, but the curses flew too fast. Miss Evans and I, I can assure you, were trying to stop it," Slughorn replied desperately.

Madam Rosmerta came out of the back with firewhiskey for some patrons and roared at James, Sirius, and Severus to get out of the pub. Remus and Peter joined their friends as night fell, and they started up the path back to Hogwarts.

"That was fun," said James happily.

"Rosmerta'll ban us from the pub forever," Peter said glumly.

"Who's 'us'? Last I checked, you did nothing," Sirius said irritably.

"Yeah, so I wouldn't get in trouble!" Peter said in his bravest voice, which was admittedly still exceptionally timid.

The moon came out of the clouds, and Remus stopped dead in his tracks. James, Sirius, and Peter looked up at the sky, and to their horror, a perfectly full moon illuminated the village. They must have forgotten to check the lunar chart, and they were too far away from the Whomping Willow to get Remus to the Shrieking Shack in time.

They pulled Remus into an alley so he could at least have the privacy of transforming undercover. James willed himself to turn into a stag, and Sirius and Peter turned into a dog and a rat, respectively. Remus's transformation, however, was not as painless as the transformation of an Animagus. His neck grew and strutted outward, his legs bent oddly and his feet became paws with razor-sharp claws, and his clothes were ripped, revealing a wolf torso covered in fur. Remus howled loudly, and people in the streets started to flee.

"_Keep Moony here. I'll get Dumbledore!_" said James to Sirius and Peter, and he galloped off to the castle. Once inside, he turned back into a human and pulled out the Marauder's Map, revealing Dumbledore to be in the Great Hall for dinner.

James ran past the four long House tables up to the staff table, where Dumbledore sat in his ornate golden chair.

"Professor Dumbledore, I need your help!" James exclaimed, panting.

"Can it wait until after my meal?" Dumbledore asked absentmindedly.

"This is urgent!" James said, and he whispered to him, "We couldn't get Remus to the Shack in time."

Dumbledore dropped his silverware and looked up. He nodded, and James knew that it was because werewolf attacks were dangerous.

Once James and Dumbledore arrived in Hogsmeade, to their horror, Remus was running around, terrorizing the villagers. Sirius bounded after him in dog form, and Peter was trying to bite his toes so he would stop.

"Everyone stay inside until this is over!" shouted Dumbledore. The headmaster was powerful and famed enough to know that everyone would trust his judgment.

James and Dumbledore ran after the others, and the latter kept his cool, while the former was nervous to the point of fainting.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" Dumbledore roared, and he hit Remus square in the chest. The werewolf locked up and stopped moving.

Sirius and Peter hid behind a building, then emerged seconds later in human form.

"Professor, what will we do with him?" Sirius asked nervously.

"You're going to keep that _thing _alive?" screamed a fourth year Hufflepuff.

Many cries of outrage were flung at the Marauders and Dumbledore from inside the shops on High Street, but Dumbledore cast a Silencing Charm on them all.

"You know what to do, Mr. Black," said Dumbledore calmly.

James, Sirius, and Peter hoisted up Remus's rigid body, carefully avoiding his teeth and claws, and carried him to the Whomping Willow. Peter immobilized the tree by pressing the knotted root at the bottom, and the Marauders descended into the tunnel. They turned into animals and ran through the catacombs, eventually reaching the decrepit Shrieking Shack, and lifted the Body-Bind Curse on Remus. Even though he howled and attacked them, the Marauders knew that everything was well.


	8. Appeal to the Wizengamot

Appeal to the Wizengamot

On a warm August morning, Hermione Granger-Weasley Apparated to work, but her plans were quite different than her usual job. Today was her scheduled time in front of the Wizengamot to appeal the laws prohibiting non-human creatures from using wands. It had been two years since she had left the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures, but she had gained enough respect from the wizarding world in her new position as Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to at least try for a revision of the law. She spent her week studying both Muggle law and court systems, and also history of Wizengamot cases. Meanwhile, her appeal was well publicized in the _Prophet_, with Rita Skeeter and Barnabas Cuffe having differing opinions of both the case and Hermione herself; while Skeeter called Hermione too hopeful, saying that her intentions were both useless and hindering to society, Cuffe considered the idea a worthy cause and helped fund her side-project charity, the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, which had now included civil rights activism for goblins, giants, and other magical creatures.

She took the elevator down to Level Nine and descended the staircase to Level Ten, turning to enter Courtroom One. The courtroom was much more inviting than Courtroom Ten; instead of a chair that chained who sat in it that faced a horseshoe of benches where the Wizengamot members sat, Courtroom One was decorated with ornate marble and had an open section for those involved in the case in front of a vast visitor's seating area. As Hermione walked to the open section, she could see her husband Ron and friends Harry and Ginny in the front row. Hermione would have asked where her five and three-year-old children, Rose and Hugo, respectively, but she was too preoccupied with the prospect of facing the entire Wizengamot.

"The Wizengamot recognizes Hermione Granger-Weasley on the behalf of the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. This case will be heard by the Wizengamot, headed by Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and Head of the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures Rolf Scamander," said the deep, calming voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Hermione was relieved that Kingsley and Rolf would be heading the Wizengamot for her appeal, since she knew them both. Kingsley was a friend and worked alongside her in the Order of the Phoenix, and Rolf was the husband of her good friend Luna Lovegood.

Rolf and Kinsgley made a sort of beckoning gesture, and Hermione started her case.

"For hundreds of years, non-human beings have been oppressed by various laws that prohibit them from performing tasks that wizards are allowed to perform. The most arguably unfair restriction is the so-called "Wand Ban," or Clause Three of the Code of Wand Use. It states that 'no non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand," suggesting that they have near-human intelligence. However, this is sadly mistaken, as many beings from house-elves to giants possess the ability to interact with humans in an intellectual manner. I call my first witness, Rubeus Hagrid, who will speaking on behalf of his half-brother, Grawp."

Hermione turned around, but she didn't see Hagrid anywhere. Fortunately, he came bursting in the door almost at the end of her sentence.

"Sorry, Hermione. Got held up at security," whispered Hagrid, and he sat down in the witness stand.

"Mr. Hagrid," said Hermione, "Can you please tell us about Grawp."

"Of course. Yeah, I found Grawp in a giant colony back in the summer o' '95, an' he wasn't tha' smart. On'y knew two words o' English; 'rock' and 'centaur.' Bu' I've bin teachin' 'im so much since then – he's bin talkin' in full conversations; on'y this mornin' he talked ter Professor McGonagall abou' a thestral uproar in the forest. Bu' yeah, he's fully capable o' human speech, an' he's as smart as the average teen righ' now, which is good, since he's eighteen," Hagrid's eyes started to tear up, "I'm so proud o' Grawpy! Yeh wouldn't believe how much progress he's made."

"Would you say that Grawp is capable of using a wand?" Hermione asked.

"Well yeah, if yeh give 'im a big enough wand. I've bin, umm, teaching 'im some charms and whatnot, an' he's pretty good," Hagrid said nervously.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Hagrid," said Hermione, and he left the witness stand.

It was bad enough that Hagrid had given Grawp a wand, but Hagrid himself had been expelled from Hogwarts, and therefore shouldn't even have a wand either, pink umbrella or not.

"Do you have any other witnesses?" asked Rolf.

"Two more," Hermione said. "I would like to call my second witness, Kreacher the house-elf."

An old, haggard-looking house-elf approached the witness stand, grumbling and complaining.

"Master Harry wants Kreacher to help the Mudblood, so Kreacher must do it," Kreacher grumbled under his breath.

Hermione could see Harry hissing at Kreacher not to call her a Mudblood, and Kreacher's neck seized up.

"Kreacher, who are you currently in the employ of?"

"Master Harry Potter and his family," Kreacher grumbled.

"How does he treat you?" Hermione asked, hoping that Kreacher wouldn't lie and mess it up.

"Master Harry treats Kreacher like an equal," said Kreacher appraisingly. "Ever since he gave Kreacher Master's Regulus's locket, Kreacher has been nicer and Master Harry has given Kreacher more rights and privileges than he ever did under Mistress Walburga."

"Like what?" Hermione asked inquisitively.

"Master Harry invites Kreacher to dinner, and Kreacher gets to eat the food he makes. Kreacher also gets to use magic whenever he needs to, and Kreacher enjoys it very much. Master Harry has even offered clothes," Kreacher shuddered, "but Kreacher refused. Kreacher does not want freedom. Kreacher has lived under masters his whole life, and Kreacher does not like the sound of living free."

"You can leave the stand now, Kreacher," Hermione said, happy with the answers she got.

"Do you hear this?" exclaimed a member of the Wizengamot, "the elf doesn't want to be free!"

"The elf has a name, you know," said Hermione, angered by that comment. However, she regained herself. "The reason Kreacher does not wish to be freed is that he has lived in servitude his entire life. If a house-elf were free from birth, or at least had the ability to use a wand, maybe they would enjoy the prospect of freedom more."

"One more witness, you said?" Rolf asked, cutting away from the growing argument.

"Yes, indeed. I call to the witness stand Grinlock, Head Goblin of Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

A small, grey-haired goblin approached the witness stand took a seat. Unfortunately, Grinlock couldn't see over the stand, so Hermione got him a couple of cushions to boost him up.

"Grinlok, what do you have to say on the matter of wand use for non-human beings?" asked Hermione.

"You know very well that goblins do not appreciate being delegated to simple bankers and tellers. We're much more intelligent than you wand-wielders think," snapped Grinlock.

"Can't goblins use magic on their own?" asked a white-haired Wizengamot member.

"It's beside the point! Wizards and witches have been using that excuse for ages, and not only to restrict goblins' rights. It's the same reason house-elves are enslaved, too!" exclaimed Grinlock.

"Order!" shouted Kingsley.

"Of all the non-human beings, the most intelligent by far are goblins. If any race warrants a revision of the Code of Wand Use, it is the goblins," said Hermione, trying to stop Grinlock from messing up the appeal.

"Mrs. Granger-Weasley, I'm sure you realize that the last time goblins were allowed wands, the rebellions of 1612 occurred in Hogsmeade," said another Wizengamot member.

"Those rebellions were a result of the goblins' lack of governmental representation. It has been four hundred years since then, and I look at the Wizengamot to see no goblins, or any non-human being, for that matter," Hermione said.

"Do you really expect us to invite a bloody house-elf onto the Wizengamot? Are you mad, woman?" yelled the Wizengamot member.

"QUIET!" yelled Kingsley, calming the atmosphere. "Council will deliberate on behalf of non-human beings to change or repeal Clause Three of the Code of Wand Use. Grinlock, you may leave the stand."

"Do you have any closing arguments, Mrs. Granger-Weasley?" Rolf asked.

"I rest my case," Hermione said confidently.

The courtroom emptied slowly, and as Hermione exited, Ron approached her.

"That Wizengamot bloke who yelled about house-elves was a huge prat," he said.

"I'm glad you share my opinions, Ronald," said Hermione jokingly, referring to his disapproval of S.P.E.W. during its early phases.

"_Council will deliberate_," Grinlock scoffed as he passed by, "The wand-wielders will restrict us as they always have."

Hermione woke up exactly a month later with an owl containing the revised edition of the Code of Wand Use. She turned immediately to Clause Three, and she ran downstairs and hugged Ron.

"_Clause Three of the Code of Wand Use_," she read aloud, "_No spirit nor beast shall be permitted the use of a wand, with the exception of beasts with sentience and human-like intelligence. Non-human beings must apply for wand usage with the Departments of Magical Law Enforcement and Regulation of Magical Creatures_."

"This is brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "Now Grawp can use and eventually break a wand!" he added sarcastically, subsequently resulting in a slap on the arm.

"The goblins will be overjoyed! The centaurs probably won't care – you know what they say about the Centaur Liaison Office," said Hermione excitedly.

"There are a few loopholes there, though," reasoned Ron. "Trolls are beings, aren't they? But they could go rogue on people. Also, acromantulas and sphinxes have sentience and human-like intelligence, but they wouldn't be given wands either."

"Remember, Ron? You have to apply. No one at the Ministry would give a wand to an acromantula," Hermione chided.

"Not unless you've got some loon like Hagrid in there," Ron mumbled.

Hermione was overjoyed. Since she created S.P.E.W., her goal was to improve the standards of non-humans, and she had finally given them opportunities for them to have wands. Her next goal was to get non-humans proper representation in the Ministry, but that was for another time.


	9. Harry Potter and the Thunderbird

Harry Potter and the Thunderbird

Just so you know, the time period is in April, 2009.

It was a bright Thursday afternoon, and Harry Potter was intending to leave work early to be with his family for dinner, but he was called into the Minister's office by surprise.

"Harry, President Quahog – you know, the American bloke – has told me he thinks he found a runaway Death Eater somewhere in the Northwest States. He needs you and a couple other Aurors in Washington immediately," explained Kingsley.

Harry ran down to Level Two and grabbed Fay Dunbar and Neville Longbottom and took the Floo Network to the Magical Congress in Washington, located under the National Archives.

"Ah, Mr. Potter!" Quahog exclaimed cheerfully. "So delighted to have you here."

"President Quahog, where do you reckon the Death Eater is?" Harry asked seriously.

"Yes, that . . . umm, I've been told he's somewhere near Portland, Oregon. If you need help Apparating there, we have a picture in the lobby," Quahog said, dropping his cheerful disposition.

Harry took Fay and Neville to the lobby, and upon seeing the picture, Apparated successfully to the place depicted.

"Yeah, he's definitely been here," said Neville quietly.

The landscape was ravaged, and on the side of the road, a Muggle woman lay either unconscious or dead. Trees were burnt to a crisp, and sidewalks were blown up entirely.

"Come on," beckoned Harry, and the three Aurors ran to where the destruction grew worse.

They came to a forest next to a highway, and a rustling in the trees could be heard. A crack of thunder sounded, and a forest fire began to rage.

"_Aguamenti!_" screamed Fay, desperately trying to put out the fire as they ran past. "It's not working!"

"_Aqua Eructo!_" Harry bellowed, and a wall of water enveloped flame, containing it to the area it had already ravaged.

"Harry, this doesn't seem like the work of a wizard," Neville said nervously.

A loud cry of some sort of bird rang through the forest, and another lightning bolt hit the ground. When the Aurors reached the clearing, they saw it – an eagle-like bird with colorful markings along its wings, lightning emanating from around it.

"That's a thunderbird," said Neville, and the thunderbird cawed.

"And there's no Death Eater here," Fay said, and Harry grew angry.

Just when Harry was about to swear about Quahog, they suddenly realized the bird's danger level, as it flew in a nosedive directly at them.

"_Stupefy_," cast Neville, but the Stunning Spell bounced off the glittering feathers of the bird.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Fay shouted, but again, the curse reflected off the thunderbird's coat.

The thunderbird came out of its dive and cried loudly, causing another burst of lightning to come forth from the sky, nearly striking Neville.

"Does anybody know anything about thunderbirds?" Harry asked loudly.

"They're, umm, connected to the weather, I think!" Fay exclaimed as she dodged another lightning bolt.

"_Meteolojinx Recanto_!" Harry bellowed, pointing his wand at the sky, but the clouds did not clear. In fact, it started to rain hard.

"None of it is working!" screamed Fay as she drew up an umbrella.

"They should've sent their Regulation of Magical Creatures on the case, not British Aurors," Harry complained, desperately trying to contain the thunderbird with curses.

"We're going to have to kill it," Neville said.

"Wait!" Harry exclaimed, "I have an idea! _Imperio_!"

The thunderbird stopped in its tracks, its eyes glazed over with an absentminded expression. Harry seemed to be telling it to stop, and the bird briefly obeyed. Then, it dove once more, and a crackle of thunder sounded once more.

"Thunderbirds must have a bit of Occlumency!" Harry exclaimed.

Harry, Neville, and Fay threw more curses at it, but they kept gleaming off the bird's coat of feathers – It seemed that the thunderbird was invincible. Meanwhile, the beating of its wings stirred gales that threw the three Aurors around the clearing like ragdolls.

"Does this thing even have a weakness?" yelled Neville over the whir of the wind.

"Well, yeah!" said Fay, "But most thunderbirds aren't stupid enough to let us take advantage of it. It can only be hurt by its own lightning!"

"Great, so now we have to keep ourselves alive _and _lull a thunderbird under its own lightning!" Harry shouted sarcastically.

"We've only got a shot by running around and hoping it runs into it," Neville suggested.

Their plan was rudimentary to the umpteenth degree, but it seemed like their only option. While they distracted the bird, lightning flew and thunder sounded, and not once did the thunderbird dare to even fly toward its own weapon.

"I'm going to try something exceptionally stupid!" shouted Harry.

Harry ran in front of the thunderbird to where it could hit him with ease and waited for a bolt of lightning to fall. In a matter of seconds, lightning struck where Harry stood, enveloping him in a haze of sparks. When the remnants of the lightning cleared, Harry was standing tall, with lightning channeled through a powerful Shield Charm. The thunderbird dove to attack, and Harry let the shield down, firing a jet of electricity right into its face. The bird fell to the ground, volts of electricity paralyzing it, and Fay tied it up.

With the incarcerated thunderbird in their custody, Harry, Neville, and Fay Apparated back to Washington D.C., hoping for the chance to curse the ears off of President Quahog.

"You lied to us," Harry said sternly.

"Yes . . . umm, but it was for a good reason. You see, the bird was terrorizing the Northwest," Quahog replied nervously.

"Don't you have a Magical Creatures Committee or something?" Fay asked angrily.

"But they don't get anything done. Our legislative branch is completely corrupted-" Quahog stuttered.

"Corrupted by who? Last I checked, your Magical Congress was a healthy balance of liberals and conservatives!" Fay shouted.

"No matter what the situation, you shouldn't have lied to us," Neville joined in.

"We know how good your Auror Department is," Quahog tried for a compliment.

"But you don't lie about Death Eaters in the area, you git!" Harry bellowed.

The door opened behind them, and a calm and deep voice started talking.

"Is there a problem here?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt walked into the room with a stern yet calm expression on his face.

"President Quahog, you have wasted my Aurors' time. Just in the past few hours, I received numerous reports of violent Muggle-baiting in Devon, and I had to send Aurors of lesser capabilities to take on the task, all while you held my best three here to fight a thunderbird."

"Minister Shacklebolt, I can explain-" Quahog started.

"If I ever hear that you call in my Ministry employees to do your dirty work, there will be serious consequences. Do you understand me, Samuel?" Kingsley said sternly, sounding more like Quahog's father than fellow magical world leader.

Quahog nodded nervously, and Kingsley turned to address the Aurors.

"I'm terribly sorry about this, and I regret asking you this, but could you please take this thunderbird down to Level Four? Magical Creatures needs to find where to incorporate thunderbirds into the beast classification system," Kingsley said apologetically.

"If that thing isn't five Xs, I'll start breeding dragons in my drawing room," Harry said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

So, Harry took his subordinates and Apparated back to the Ministry of Magic. Neville and Fay took the struggling thunderbird down to Level Four, and Harry settled into his office like nothing happened. He wondered, perhaps, if Kreacher would cook extra onion soup in celebration of his escapade.


	10. Tom Riddle's Punishment

Tom Riddle's Punishment

A white landscape came into view, and the distant glow of a gleaming white castle illuminated the blank ground. Voldemort lay on the ground, feeble and weak, looking up at three disappointed faces.

"We've been waiting for you, Tom," said the deep voice of Albus Dumbledore.

Voldemort reached for his wand from the pocket of his robes, and noticed that neither his wand nor his robes were with him. He looked down again, and robes were there, but the Elder Wand would not appear, and neither would the yew wand he had bought from Ollivander's so long ago.

The other two faces became clear, but Voldemort only recognized one of them – the sullen, crooked-nosed face of Severus Snape. The other, however, was of a young woman with dull hair dotted with grey lines and sunken features.

"Tom, I bet you're wondering where you are," Dumbledore said calmly. "This is death."

Lord Voldemort, the greatest sorcerer of all time, could not be dead. Harry Potter had not killed him, surely not. This was all some big prank, he was being fooled. Dumbledore was just a hallucination, as were Snape and the woman.

"Dumbledore, that's not entirely true," said the woman.

"An excellent observation, Merope. This is, in fact, a sort of Limbo," Dumbledore said happily.

Merope . . . Voldemort had heard that name before. Merope was his mother, Merope Gaunt, the Squib who married the filthy Muggle Tom Riddle.

"You know, of course, why this is not truly death," Snape said curtly.

"I have gone farther to achieve immortality than anyone!" Voldemort exclaimed triumphantly, as if it meant something now.

"And unfortunately, that is your downfall. You see, you were not the only ones who discovered your Horcruxes," Dumbledore said expressionlessly.

"Yes, Harry Potter found out about them, and I killed him-"

"But then he killed you," Snape finished.

Voldemort stood, staring wildly at these peoples' faces. Dumbledore, dead on his orders! Snape, dead by his hand! Merope Gaunt, too weak to live! These people had no right to talk to Lord Voldemort about death.

"You see, Tom," started Dumbledore, "We say things we don't mean to be overheard quite often, and a great example of this is when you confronted Horace Slughorn on the nature of Horcruxes. Of course, you only asked to see if it were possible to split your soul into seven pieces, and it seems that you did – at first. You indeed succeeded in turning the diary, the diadem, the cup, the locket, the ring, and Nagini into Horcruxes, but you accidentally turned Harry Potter into one as well. The reason is because your soul is so maimed that you could not stand to live, and therefore lost your physical body that night sixteen years ago. But you came back, unwilling to die, and Harry Potter ripped you from life again, but first destroying your Horcruxes this time. You cannot move on – you lost the chance for remorse."

"Death is a weakness!" Voldemort screamed.

"Then was I weak for choosing death over the terrible life I lived?" asked Merope.

Voldemort, as powerful as he was, could not bring himself to call his own mother weak to her face.

"Was I weak accepting death?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes! Dumbledore, you are weaker than any human being on the planet! Believing that love is the most powerful kind of magic, when the most powerful kind of magic is murder! It was on my order that you are dead!"

"I will object to that," Snape interjected, "Dumbledore was already suffering a terrible curse from your ring Horcrux, and instead of dying painfully and slowly, he wanted me to do it quickly."

"But he is dead!" Voldemort shouted, his scream echoing throughout the blank landscape.

"And you are as well," said Dumbledore quietly.

"You are a foolish boy, and I am ashamed that I gave birth to you," Merope spat disappointedly.

"Snape, what about you? I killed you! Nagini feasted on your flesh!" Voldemort argued.

"But I accepted death, something you, the so-called Dark Lord, could never do," Snape responded.

"Was love the reason you accepted death?" Voldemort asked mockingly.

"Indeed. I knew that if I died, I could be with Lily Evans again," Snape said blankly.

"I knew that if I died, I could be united with Tom Riddle without consequence," Merope said, slightly tearful.

"I knew that if I died, I could see my family again," Dumbledore said happily.

"Family, what a useless thing. If I needed family I would have searched for it. Instead, I killed my family," Voldemort said strongly.

"You act as if that makes you a good person," Snape confronted him.

"I am better than any of you! Dumbledore, who worked so hard to keep the filthy Muggles from my wrath. Snape, who evaded my anger by hiding behind Dumbledore. My own mother, who died instead of raise me!" Voldemort yelled.

A revelation came to Voldemort's eyes. One of the driving reasons behind his actions was that his mother disappeared from his life.

"Tom, all four of us has something in common. All of us had a parent that we felt estranged to," Dumbledore said quietly. "You lost your mother at birth, Severus had a mutual hate of his father, Merope's mother died and her father was abusive, and my father was imprisoned during my childhood."

"Enough of this! Leave here, for Lord Voldemort does not listen to the foolish words of weaklings!" Voldemort commanded.

"Very well. Goodbye, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Goodbye forever," Dumbledore mused.

Dumbledore turned and walked toward the castle in the distance, and Merope and Snape followed. Voldemort was left alone in this bleak, white landscape for eternity.


	11. Ernie Prang Drives Slowly

An Alternate Harry Potter: Ernie Prang Drives Slowly

Harry Potter sat on the curb next to the playground in Little Whinging. There comes a rustling from the bushes, and playground equipment start to move on their own. Suddenly, a large black dog jumped out of the bushes and knocks Harry over. The dog is holding a newspaper in his mouth, and as soon as Harry tries to survey the dog, bright headlights came from the intersection up ahead. The dog pulled Harry past the bushes and into a secluded spot behind Number 1 Magnolia Crescent, and everything went dark for a moment.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus," said a man's voice, no older than eighteen or nineteen, "My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor tonight."

The man, Stan Shunpike, looked down and saw no one.

"Ern, no one here. Take it away," Stan said over his shoulder, and the purple Knight Bus sped off.

When Harry turned around, a man stood in his eyesight. This man had long, matted hair, yellowed teeth, and a sullen and dark look. He held the newspaper from before in his right hand. Harry pulled out his wand, and the man raised his arms in defense.

"Wait a minute, Harry. You don't even know who I am, but you're going to kill me?"

Harry stared blankly at him, and then promptly said, "Who are you, exactly?"

"Sirius Black," he said, handing him the newspaper.

The large headline ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN was plastered atop the _Daily Prophet_, and a picture of Sirius was shown underneath. The article enclosed details about how Black escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison, and was a murderer who killed thirteen people with one curse.

"You're a murderer," Harry said quietly, "Why shouldn't I kill you?"

"Harry Potter, you have no idea how long I've wanted to see you again. You see, I'm your godfather," Sirius said calmly.

"But you're a murderer," repeated Harry.

"Well you see, I'm innocent. But I see I've given you no reason to believe that, so you can keep me in your custody until you see your friend's rat. Give me the rat, and I'll explain everything," Sirius said unconvincingly.

Harry wondered what kind of man would need Scabbers for anything, since he was pretty much useless.

"I'm going to the Leaky Cauldron, so you can stay in my room there, but if you try anything funny, I'll turn you over to the Ministry," Harry said commandingly.

Sirius nodded, and he transformed into a dog. Harry had heard about Animagi before, but he had never seen one in real life. The two trotted off, hoping to catch a cab to Charing Cross Road.

At the Leaky Cauldron, Sirius stay shut in Harry's room. Harry would bring up food to Sirius, just to keep him alive, and in turn, Sirius would stay in dog form to not be discovered. Weeks passed, and while Harry was gone in Diagon Alley, Sirius would just lay on the bed in the room.

Eventually, Ron and Hermione arrived at the pub, and Harry decided he would ask for Scabbers. He descended the stairs that morning and saw the Weasleys gathered around a large table.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ron!" Harry said enthusiastically, "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!" he added as he was embraced by Ron's parents.

"What are we, dragon bogeys?" George asked sarcastically.

Disregarding George's comment, Harry decided to make his move.

"Ron, can I borrow Scabbers?" Harry asked nonchalantly.

"Why do you need him? He's useless," Ron said.

"Can I just have your rat? I'll give you ten Sickles if I can just borrow him," Harry said darkly.

"Fine," Ron gave in, and he exchanged Scabbers for ten gleaming silver Sickles.

Harry brought the rat up to his room, and Sirius transformed into a human once Harry locked the door. He looked extremely happy, and Harry wondered why.

"Wonderful, Harry. Alright Peter, reveal yourself!" Sirius shouted.

Sirius pointed his wand at Scabbers, and he turned into a squat, short man. His hair was balding, and he was missing a finger on his left hand. His buckteeth still characterized him as someone who could definitely parade as a rat.

"Sirius? Is that you?" the rat-man asked nervously.

"Peter Pettigrew, the lying, filthy traitor," Sirius snarled maliciously.

"Sirius, what are you talking about? You were the Secret-Keeper. You were the spy!" Peter Pettigrew cried.

"Harry, meet Peter Pettigrew. He was my friend from school, and I use the term loosely. You see, Peter Pettigrew became the Secret-Keeper for your parents when they hid from Voldemort" – Peter shuddered at the name – "and Peter here sold their location to him. This piece of vermin is the reason Lily and James are dead."

"How can I trust you? You're a murderer!" Harry demanded.

Peter knelt down at Harry's feet, looking oddly remorseful. "Harry," he said, "You look so much like James. You know, I was friends with him too."

"How dare you talk about James to him? Tell him the truth, he has a right to know!" Sirius yelled.

The door unlocked itself, and Mr. Weasley entered the room.

"Is everything alr-" Mr. Weasley began, nearly collapsing when he saw Sirius.

"Mr. Weasley, don't hurt Sirius Black, not yet," Harry said nervously.

Mr. Weasley pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sirius's neck. Peter sat in the corner of the room, chewing his fingernails.

"Who is that man over there?" Mr. Weasley asked, not taking his wand off of Sirius.

"Peter Pettigrew," said Sirius, "Mr. Weasley, please call up the Minister of Magic please."

"Peter Pettigrew is dead, and you killed him," snarled Mr. Weasley.

"Peter Pettigrew is sitting right there, and he killed those twelves Muggles. Look at his hand – he's missing a finger, isn't he?" Sirius hastily explained.

Mr. Weasley turned and saw Peter's hand. "_A finger_," he mouthed, and he ran downstairs.

"Would you like more proof, Harry? Peter, lift up your sleeve," Sirius barked, and Peter obeyed.

Scrawled on his arm was the pale drawing of a skull with a snake coming forth from its mouth. It looked as if it was a black tattoo that faded with age, but it seemed to be magically sinister.

"It's the Dark Mark – Voldemort's mark. This is proof that Peter was one of his followers – a Death Eater," Sirius said quietly, and Peter burst into tears.

The doorway was filled once more by Mr. Weasley and Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, whom Harry had formally met a few weeks before (though he had seen Fudge in Hagrid's hut last March).

"Sirius Black," he stammered, "and – _Peter Pettigrew?_"

Peter was sobbing uncontrollably, his Dark Mark still visible in the afternoon sunlight, and Fudge brandished a vial of what Harry assumed to be some sort of truth-telling serum. He handed one to Peter and one to Sirius.

"Both of you, drink. I need the facts and nothing but the facts," Fudge said.

Sirius downed it in one gulp, but Peter needed to have it forced down his throat by Mr. Weasley. Sirius looked overjoyed, but Peter continued crying.

"Peter Pettigrew, did you kill those twelves Muggles?" Fudge asked shakily.

"Yes," Peter sobbed, and Sirius smiled.

"Did Sirius Black sell the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Fudge asked still as shakily as before.

"It was me! I was his spy! I sold them out to the Dark Lord!" Peter cried, and another burst of tears rushed down his mousy features.

"Sirius Black, you had nothing to do with the murder of the Muggles or the Potters' deaths?" Fudge asked finally.

"Absolutely nothing, Minister. I only laughed when Pettigrew blamed me because it was so hilariously unfounded," Sirius said confidently.

"Send a memo out to the _Prophet_," Fudge announced. "Arthur, notify Kingsley and Rufus immediately. I will contact the Order of Merlin to give Sirius Black an award, and he will be cleared of all charges!"

Mr. Weasley and Fudge exited the room, and Peter Pettigrew was tugged along by a spell of Fudge's, leaving Sirius and Harry alone.

"Thank you so much, Harry. Come and visit me once in a while – maybe you can see me in Hogsmeade," Sirius said happily.

"Sirius, my uncle didn't sign my form," Harry said sadly.

"Remember, I'm your godfather," Sirius reminded him, and he picked up a spare piece of parchment.

_I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give Harry permission to go on Hogsmeade trips._

"This'll work for Dumbledore," Harry said.

The results of Peter Pettigrew's capture were astounding. For one, Pettigrew was given the Dementor's Kiss, the only time Dumbledore ever agreed of the punishment. The lack of his servitude to Voldemort postponed his rise until Dumbledore discovered his Horcruxes, and destroyed him for good. Sirius bought a house in Hogsmeade, and he was given an Order of Merlin: First Class, partially as an apology, and partially because he turned Pettigrew in. Sybill Trelawney never made her second prophecy, and her first prophecy was negated due to Dumbledore being able to kill Voldemort on his own. The dementors did not occupy the grounds of Hogwarts that year, and Professor Lupin taught as usual. After Voldemort's death, the jinx against the D.A.D.A job was broken, and Snape taught that subject after Lupin's resignation. Dumbledore never wore the ring, due to his knowledge about the Horcruxes, and Snape never had to kill him. Fudge served as Minister for ten years before being replaced by Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Pettigrew's testimony helped the Ministry rid itself of Death Eaters and any connections to them. So, in essence, if Ernie Prang had be a few seconds late, Harry Potter 4-7 would not need to happen.


	12. The Mystery of the Hog's Head

Albus Potter and the Mystery of the Hog's Head

Just a fun little idea I had. Enjoy!

Albus Potter was walking down High Street of Hogsmeade with his best friend Scorpius Malfoy. Three years ago, Albus was Sorted into the Slytherin, and he developed a friendly relationship with Scorpius.

"Hey Al, look who it is," Scorpius said, pointing at the Honeydukes window.

Sitting at the window was Viola Stringer, Albus's long-time crush, who played Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Albus became a sort of friendly rival to her, playing Chaser for the Slytherin team, and matches between the two always ended up with each of them making ten or eleven goals apiece. Off the pitch, however, Viola would almost never interact with him. Worse, she harbored feelings for his older brother James.

Albus shook his head, breaking out of a semi-trance from looking at Viola.

"I'm not going to do it."

"Come on, just do it," Scorpius egged him on.

"I am not doing it."

"Just do it."

"No."

"At least go inside and get some sweets, then maybe go for it," Scorpius said strongly, afterwards muttering, "No wonder you're not a Gryffindor."

Albus and Scorpius walked into the shop, and Albus caught a glimpse of Viola admiring James from afar, which greatly angered him. James was currently talking to Roxanne, his cousin, no doubt getting dangerous discontinued Weasley's merchandise from the daughter of the founder. What he didn't know was that Albus had been getting dangerous merchandise from his Uncle Ron ever since he'd been allowed to go on Hogsmeade trips.

Scorpius and Albus separated and hunted for sweets, eventually coming back with numerous boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Blowing Gum, Licorice wands, and other candies. The two Slytherins were arguably the richest students in their year, with Scorpius's father Draco having inherited a large fortune upon the death of his father, and Albus's father Harry getting paid extremely well, as he was the Head Auror and was a member of the Wizengamot. They paid the cashier ten Galleons each, and Scorpius pushed Albus toward Viola, who was sitting and talking with her friends.

"Hey Stringer," said Albus awkwardly, and all her friends giggled except Rose Weasley, Albus's cousin, who could see the intention of his appearance.

"Hi Potter," Viola said, brushing her long blonde hair aside, "Excited for the match tomorrow?"

Albus remembered that Slytherin was playing Gryffindor the next day, and made a mental note to polish his broomstick that night.

"Yeah, er, good luck."

As Albus left the shop to join back up with Scorpius, Viola's entourage giggled excessively, but Rose only looked with a gaze of sorrow at him.

"That was absolutely pathetic," Scorpius said as they turned a corner.

"You don't understand. It's like she's a veela or something," Albus said dreamily.

"That, and she doesn't like you," Scorpius added, and continued upon seeing Albus's look of confusion. "Look, I get my information from Rose," – Rose was Scorpius's girlfriend – "And she says that Stringer can't stand you."

"And why is that?"

"Well, maybe it has to do with Quidditch. I mean, we do beat Gryffindor almost every match, thanks to me," Scorpius said – he had indeed inherited his father's talent for Seeking.

"I think I need to down my feelings with firewhisky," Albus said glumly, "Just make sure there aren't any prefects around."

Albus and Scorpius entered the Hog's Head, the dingy pub a little way's away from High Street, where Aberforth Dumbledore was humming and wiping down a glass.

"'Afternoon, Ab," Albus said, and Aberforth nodded before looking back down.

The pub was full of odd people, but Albus could definitely recognize a few, like Mundungus Fletcher, who was currently hidden under a purple veil, and Hagrid, whose massive stature made him nearly unmistakable. Hagrid and Mundungus were discussing some odd events that had happened recently, including the return of Fawkes to Hogwarts no more than a week ago. The phoenix landed by the Headmaster's Tower, cawing to Professor Flitwick before the tiny Headmaster let him in. He looked pretty badly injured when Albus saw him, since he was in the Headmaster's office for setting off a Portable Swamp by the Owlery.

"An' then I said ter Flitwick, 'did yeh ask Dumbledore's portrait yet?' and he said no. So we went up ter the study, an' Dumbledore said tha' some strange things – oh, hello Al, and you too Scorpius."

"Professor Hagrid, what are you doing here?" asked Scorpius, who was friendly enough to call Hagrid solely by his name.

"Jus' waitin' fer someone. Yeh know Al, I'll bet yeh'll really like the next creature I brought in," Hagrid said excitedly, brushing away Scorpius's question.

Albus's stomach turned – when Hagrid said he thought Albus would like something, it usually ended up being very dangerous. His father had once told him the story of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, and how his friend Dean Thomas ended up in the hospital wing with second degree burns because of them.

"Yeh know, Ab said he was lookin' fer a couple o' students to do 'im a favor. Mind if yeh help 'im out?" Hagrid asked.

"Sure," said Albus before Scorpius could decline.

The two walked to Aberforth, albeit Scorpius very reluctantly, and asked what he needed.

"You see that painting over there? When it opens, go inside and investigate, 'cause some strange things have been happening in there."

A portrait of a girl no older than thirteen opened next to them, and she smiled as the two Slytherins approached. A dark corridor appeared, and they clambered into it. The farther into the tunnel, the hotter it got, until it reached an almost unbearable temperature. A stone door opened, and a vast room full of burnt furniture and destroyed magical artifacts became visible. In a few spots in the room, fires were raging and charring more things in the room.

"Where are we?" asked Scorpius.

"I dunno, but take your wand out," Albus said, pulling out his own alder wand.

As they descended some stairs into the room, a flaming Fizzing Whizbee soared atop their heads, and a reanimated quintaped skeleton tried to attack them before Scorpius Stunned it. Almost as if sensing their presence, the fire in the other sections of the room starting raging toward them at unimaginable speeds, and Albus was grateful that Professor Glossarist, the Charms professor, had taught them the Aqua Eructo Charm and the Ebulbio Jinx the day before.

"AQUA ERUCTO!" screamed Albus, and Scorpius caught on, yelling "EBULBIO!"

Soon, they were inside a giant bubble. Scorpius cast the Bubble-Head Charm on both of them so they wouldn't drown, but they weren't exactly sure the bubble would hold off the fire.

As the fire approached, Albus could make out distinct shapes of magical beasts like chimaeras and augureys.

Scorpius bellowed something that sounded like, "ESSFEENFAR!" and Albus could make nothing of it. The bubble around them collapsed, and Scorpius raised his wand and screamed at the top of his lungs, "PARTIS TEMPORUS!"

The flames stopped in their tracks and dispersed until the room was ablaze no more. Scorpius walked up to Albus, and panted weakly, "It's Fiendfyre, you idiot."

"That was amazing," Albus said, patting his friend on the back as Scorpius looked to him for support.

"You think so?" Scorpius mumbled, "Let's get out of here."

Albus wanted to as well, but he noticed something rather odd resting in an open armoire. It looked like a dead fetus that had been extracted from its mother, but its eyes were scarlet and its nostrils were serpentine. It was curled up into a ball, and every couple seconds it would shudder lightly.

"Scorp, you don't reckon . . ."

"We are _not_ bringing that thing with us!" Scorpius snarled, suddenly full with energy.

"We have to tell Flitwick! He has to hide it! _This is Voldemort!_" Albus exclaimed. "How would you feel if this thing fell into the hands of a Death Eater?"

"All of the Death Eaters are in Azkaban," Scorpius said dismissively.

"But not all of the sympathizers are. Rumors are circulating that the Thicknesse bloke who was Minister back in '98 was coerced, and wasn't even under the Imperius Curse," Albus said breathily.

"Fine," Scorpius said darkly, "But we tell no one. My father would be executed if the Ministry found out his son had the body of You-Know-Who in his possession."

Albus wrapped the small Voldemort fetus in a cloth and took him to the large oak doors at the front of the room. When he and Scorpius exited the room, they found themselves on the seventh floor, not too far from Flitwick's office. They ran to Flitwick and told him to guard it more carefully, and all was well for now.


	13. The New Teacher

Albus Potter and the New Teacher

Just a sequel to Albus Potter and the Mystery of the Hog's Head. PM me or tell me in a review if you think I should do a full series of this, like the length of Ancient Gods or maybe even a full length novel. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Albus and Scorpius got ready for the Quidditch match that fine Sunday morning, and they ran to the pitch. Waiting for them was Slytherin captain Harvey Cracknell, a burly Beater with biceps the size of foxes.

"Where've you been? The Gryffindors were ready hours ago!" he bellowed.

"Who do they have playing?" asked Deborah Portman, Albus's fellow Chaser.

"It's Stringer, Bell, and Wood as Chasers, Potter on Keeper, Weasley and Edelman as Beaters, and Potter on Seeker."

Lily, Albus's younger sister, had just been chosen as Gryffindor Seeker earlier that term, which further overshadowed Albus's accomplishments, which included Potions accolades and amazing Chasing skills. James was Gryffindor captain, and he had inherited his uncle's Keeper skills, and Roxanne was a Beater, getting her prowess from her father.

"What's happened to Dunbar?" asked Andrew Aragon, the seventh year Keeper who had a slight obsession with Merlin.

"Dunno, but my sources tell me that Bell isn't too good," Cracknell told him. "Anyway, they're going to start the match any second. Hands in the middle."

The entire Slytherin team put their hands in the middle of their huddle, and on the count of three exclaimed "Slytherin!"

"Teams, enter the pitch!" called the commanding voice of Madam Hooch, and two sets of seven players, one wearing scarlet and the other clad in green, walked dramatically onto the pitch to the cheers of hundreds of students. Unsurprisingly, the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had united against Gryffindor as always, but a massive influx of Slytherin students from the past few years had almost compensated for it.

"Brooms to the ready," she called, and the teams mounted their brooms. Albus's Thunderbird II, the newest model of broom to be released, churned with excitement as tension filled the air. "Captains, shake hands," Madam Hooch ordered, and Albus wasn't sure if Cracknell was crushing James's hand, or the other way around. "Go!"

In a flash, Albus was off, and he could briefly see Madam Hooch releasing the Bludgers and the Snitch as he flew off with the Quaffle.

"Albus Potter off with the Quaffle," called Bert Macmillan, a Hufflepuff fifth year who did the match commentary, "Speeding toward James Potter, a glint of sibling rivalry in his eye. He throws it, and ooh – James just misses it! Ten-naught Slytherin!"

After that goal, Viola Stringer got the Quaffle, who dropped it after nearly getting hit by a Bludger pelted by Cracknell. Deborah Portman caught it in a swift dive, and soared toward the hoops. James just barely blocked it, and in anger, Roger Morlock, the second Beater, threw his bat at the opposing Keeper.

"That's a penalty for Gryffindor," Macmillan announced.

Andrew Aragon failed to block the Quaffle, leaving the score 10-10. Albus took the Quaffle from that point forward, making another goal, and another, and another. The score was 40-10 for Slytherin before Macmillan could say "And Potter's got the Quaffle again."

Then came the bad part – Scorpius Malfoy fell to the ground like an owl that just flew into a window. Up above, where he had been searching for the Golden Snitch, a horde of dementors were flying toward the pitch. Except they weren't dementors, they had a more silvery cloak, and they lacked the hood that hid the dementor's mouth.

"Potter, lethifolds at 12 o'clock!" barked Cracknell.

The stadium became immersed in a state of confusion, but the lethifolds kept approaching. They tried to attack Lily once as soon as she saw the Snitch, but Albus figured that was a coincidence. All he cared about was getting his wand, his precious wand of alder and dragon heartstring core. _Accio wand_, he thought desperately, and apparently so did the other players as well. Fourteen wands of varying size and shape flew through the air to the Quidditch pitch.

"Incendio!" Albus yelled as a lethifold swooped around James, thinking it would burn the shroud, but to no avail. "Flipendo!" he tried, but the lethifold merely staggered.

From the spectator stands, in the unmistakably squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick, the incantation "Expecto patronum!" was called out. A shield of golden and silvery light spewed forth from his wand, and the lethifolds were pushed back. Getting the idea, Albus tried the incantation, wishing desperately that no harm would be done to anyone there, bellowing "Expecto patronum!" A glimmer a silvery light, then it faltered and died. Four lethifolds were closing in on Viola, threatening to strangle her. One yanked her off her broom, and another wrapped a section of its shroud around her neck. Albus could think of nothing else but her being okay, and he yelled "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The spectators came out of their panic to witness the magic being performed in front of them, no less by a fourth year. Albus was told of the Patronus, and that his dad's took the form of a stag, but what flew in front of him was definitely not a stag. A gigantic golden eagle soared through the sky, flying through crowds of lethifolds and driving back the fog that had formed. The lethifolds scattered, and Albus looked around at the applause he got. Unfortunately, the lethifold holding Viola in a chokehold threw her up into the air, and Albus had only a second to act to decide if she would live or die. In one fell swoop, Albus dove under her, hoping to catch her in his arms. He had, most unfortunately, miscalculated, and Viola fell on his back, dragging both of them down to the ground.

Albus woke up in a bed he could only recognize as a hospital wing bed, seeing as he had been there many times before for Quidditch injuries.

"Madam Pomfrey, how long was I out?" Albus asked groggily to the matron hovering over him.

"Only a few minutes, the match restarted without you. I say, that sport is so dangerous that it's a shame they haven't discontinued it," Madam Pomfrey said angrily.

Albus looked to his left to see Viola in a hospital bed as well, except she wasn't awake – she didn't even look like she was breathing. Before he could do anything, the doors to the hospital opened, and a man in a dark grey suit with a well-groomed beard and stubbly moustache entered.

"Poppy, may I talk to Mr. Potter?"

"Very well Atlas, but you have five minutes," Madam Pomfrey said uninterestedly.

The man named Atlas walked briskly to Albus's bed and held out his hand. Albus noticed a blood red ring on his fourth finger, but he shook it anyway.

"Professor Mortelux, Mr. Potter. How do you do?"

"I've been better," Albus replied weakly.

"That's a shame. I'm truly sorry about the lethifold incident, that's partially my fault," Mortelux said apologetically.

"_You set those lethifolds on everyone?_" Albus asked with indignation, but Mortelux just sighed.

"No, but I didn't come here fast enough to dispel them. You see, I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, so-"

"But what about Professor Pardus?"

"Professor Pardus has been – er – dishonorably discharged, following the discovery that he was breeding Nundus in the Room of Requirement, and that he was planning on unleashing lethifolds for his students to take care of for a lesson. Professor Flitwick called me in as his replacement, but I got here just after you got rid of the lethifolds."

"So why are you here, sir?"

"Foremost, I wanted to congratulate you and producing a Patronus on the first try, and no less as a fourth year. Second, Professor Slughorn, who is currently ill, asked me to tell you have been selected as one of the Chasers for the Hogwarts team in the International Wizarding School Quidditch Cup."

"Er, what?"

"You see, for hundreds of years, there have only been seven major wizarding schools around the globe, but that all changed a few weeks ago. The new American wizarding school, Aquila Academy, has agreed to compete in the competition, which hasn't been played in over three hundred years, ever since the Escola de Catala in northern Spain closed its doors. On January 1st, you and your six fellow teammates will take a Portkey to Aquila Academy in the early morning to report for the welcome ceremony, joined by Professor Flitwick. For the remainder of the year, you will be staying at Aquila Academy, and you shall be supervised by me."

Albus was shocked – him, chosen for an international event? Mortelux had to be bluffing . . . surely this was all a dream . . . he would wake up any moment.

A mosquito entered the room and buzzed around Mortelux, who reached into the sleeve of his suit jacket for his wand. Albus noticed something very odd, a scar in the shape of a skull. At first, he thought nothing of it, but he then remembered something his father had told him. "_If only they started checking to see if Sirius was really guilty . . . every Death Eater bears the Dark Mark on their arm, and if you see it, never trust a word they say_."

So, was the International Wizarding School Quidditch Cup really a lie, or was Mortelux telling the truth? If Flitwick had hired an ex-Death Eater, there was definitely a reason behind it, and it meant that he was trustworthy.

The next day, Albus ran to the Slytherin dormitories from the hospital wing, briefly noticing that Viola's bed was vacant, to express the news. Judging by the festive nature and balloons scattered around the common room, someone else had too.

"Al, did you hear?" asked Scorpius from behind him, "Cracknell's Beater for the school team!"

"Congratulate him for me!" Albus exclaimed.

"The new bloke, Mortelux, he came in and told him this morning at practice. We said he already told someone else on our team, but he wouldn't disclose any more, and neither did the team. I just know it wasn't me," Scorpius explained.

"That's 'cause it was me!" Albus exclaimed ecstatically, and Scorpius's eyes widened.

"You . . . well I'll be damned . . . Congratulations, Al! Hey everyone, Potter's a Chaser for the school team!" Scorpius announced, and people started flocking in his direction, particularly girls. Albus pained at the thought of this, since the only girl he could care about was Viola, the only girl who wouldn't like him back. Perhaps the heroic incident with the lethifolds had changed her opinion, but he doubted it, since shifting feelings from your crush to their brother seemed almost impossible. He made a mental note to ask Rose about this sort of thing.

"You know, you're allowed to bring a guest," Scorpius said over the crowd's chatter, "Mortelux said so."

"Of course you're coming with me, Scorp. Just tell your dad to tell the Minister we'll make sure to win!" Albus exclaimed, all thoughts of Viola or lethifolds or love slipping from his mind. His best friend and he were going on a six month trip to America, where he would compete in an international Quidditch competition. It was like a dream come true.


	14. Aquila Academy

Albus Potter and Aquila Academy

January 1st approached like a tornado, with everything its in path being reduced to rubble. Halloween was barely significant, and Christmas was forgettable were it not for his new green-and-silver Weasley sweater and a new cage for his owl, Minerva, both of which were sent by his Grandma and Grandpa Weasley. All he and Scorpius cared about was that in a few days' time, they would on their way to Aquila Academy.

It was New Year's Day, and Albus and Scorpius lay awake in their beds at 5:55 AM . . . 5:56, 5:57, 5:58, 5:59 . . .

The alarm clock blared through the dormitory, and Albus and Scorpius jumped out of bed and threw on their robes faster than their roommates, Joshua Parkinson and Noah Connors, could crawl out of bed. They dashed through the corridors, narrowly dodging Peeves and a few ghosts, arriving at the entrance hall in forty seconds flat.

"Well, I'm sure you've all played each other before," said Flitwick, who was standing at the polished oak doors that led to the Great Hall. His eyes fell on Scorpius, "Mr. Malfoy, what brings you here?"

"I chose him as a guest, sir," said Albus, and the two Ravenclaws who had been selected for the team dashed to their dormitory, returning in a few minutes.

In front of Albus stood, not including friends, Harvey Cracknell and Elias Anderson, a Hufflepuff sixth year, as Beaters, Ju Chang, a Ravenclaw fifth year, as Seeker, _James_ as Keeper, and Xavier Smith, a Hufflepuff seventh year, and – it just had to be – Viola as his fellow Chasers. Fortunately for Scorpius, Albus figured, Viola was bringing Rose, and the couple wouldn't have to part for months on end. _Why couldn't we be like that?_ Albus thought angrily.

"Ok, Mr. Filch has already loaded your luggage into the carriage," Flitwick called out, looking at his checklist. "Now for a roll call, umm, Anderson!"

"Present."

"Chang."

"Here."

"Cracknell."

"It's too early for this."

"Potter."

"Yes," said James and Albus at the same time.

"Very well. Smith."

"Good morning."

"Stringer."

"Here."

"Good, good. If you would please follow me," Flitwick announced, and the doors to the entrance courtyard opened. He took the students through the courtyard and across the viaduct, leading them to a clearing by Hogsmeade station. Nestled between the trees stood a fifteen foot tall black dragon, with a golden carriage embellished with the Hogwarts crest atop its back.

"We have to make an entrance, don't we?" Flitwick asked cheerfully.

Albus clambered up the dragon's back, who was surprisingly tolerant of people for a dragon. Hagrid came lumbering toward the dragon once everyone was in.

"Alrigh', the Hebridean Black's ready. Hippus is on guard, jus' like yeh ordered."

"Excellent, thank you Hagrid. See you soon, my friend," Flitwick said from the window. The Hebridean Black flapped its gigantic wings, and soon enough the fifteen passengers were off the ground.

"Who's flying this thing?" asked Scorpius.

"This dragon can think for itself, Mr. Malfoy. It knows where we are going," Flitwick explained.

The Scottish countryside passed by underneath them, the moors and mountains blending together like a watercolor painting. Soon, the landscape became nothing but blue waves, bobbing up and down at the water's surface.

"Students, this is the time when you'll want to hang on for dear life," said Flitwick cheerfully, his wand aloft. "Spatium Reflexus!"

In front of the dragon, a black dot appeared. It was fairly small, except for the fact that in two seconds it had grown to the size of Sicily. The dragon kept flying through, and the sensation Albus felt while going through the newly-created wormhole was similar to that of Apparition, as his father had taken him to work one day with it, except that it was much more disorienting and over much too slowly. It had taken ten seconds for the dragon to exit the wormhole, and by that time Elias Anderson had vomited onto the fabric of space-time. Albus wondered what sort of problems this would cause logistically, but it didn't seem to cause any, as the world seemed perfectly normal.

"Newest spell to date, developed by the wizards in Switzerland. Wonderful fellows, they are, helping out at CERN," Flitwick said, looking extremely proud that he had successfully performed that spell.

The coastline of the Eastern United States appeared in the distance, and it grew ever closer. Once the dragon was over land, Albus could start making out monuments in Washington D.C. The Washington Monument stood ever so graceful over the National Mall, with the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol Building directly along the mall. The dragon landed a short ways' away from the city proper in a moor, which Flitwick called Foggy Bottom. In front of them stood a massive marble building that looked quite like the Capitol Building, except it had various towers around it, so it looked like an American Taj Mahal. The front windows were covered by United States flags, and there were smaller flags above them, one for each state. Large doors were open in the front of the school, and inside Albus could see eight flags with registration desks underneath, most likely for the Quidditch teams.

"Professor Canton, Hogwarts is here!" yelled a student who looked no older than twelve.

"Excellent, just excellent," said a redheaded man with a short beard and moustache, "Professor Flitwick, how delighted to see you again!"

"Yes, yes, Michael, it's truly nice to see you again as well, but I must escort my students to the registration desk," Flitwick said irritably.

The fifteen Hogwarts representatives approached a desk under the Union Jack with the Hogwarts crest superimposed upon it. Albus strode up to the front of the group with Scorpius in tow.

"Name?" asked the middle-aged witch at the desk.

"Albus Potter," said Albus.

"Potter? Son of _the _Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

Albus hated it when people referenced his father, since he was so successful and accomplished. Living if the shadow of your brother was hard enough, but living in the shadow of your father and brother is another story.

"Alright, is everything here correct? Birthdate is August 17, 2006, place of residence at 12 Grimmauld Place, fourth year of education in Slytherin House?"

"All there."

"Your friend's name?"

"Scorpius Malfoy."

The witch lowered her voice, "Wasn't his dad in league with You-Know-Who?"

"_Scorpius Malfoy_," Albus repeated grittily.

"Alright, alright. What's his information?"

"My birthdate is November 16, 2005, I live at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, and I'm in my fourth year in Slytherin," said Scorpius from behind Albus.

"Yes, very well, everything seems to be in order. Take your luggage to our caretaker, Mr. Spruce, and go into the Assembly Hall to wait."

Albus and Scorpius headed into the hall, and it was a sight to behold. It was a large elliptical room with rows of seats assembled all around, with desks in front of every seat. In the middle, there was a large crest with an eagle, thirteen arrows, and an olive branch holding a spangled shield. After about twenty minutes, the man named Professor Canton strode to the middle of the hall.

"Welcome, welcome, one and all! It is my greatest honor to welcome the Quidditch players from the eight esteemed wizarding schools across the country! Let us introduce the home team, the Aquila Academy Griffins!" Canton announced, and seven Aquila Academy students stood up, to the applause of many. "The Koldovstoretz School Graphorns!" and seven cloaked Russian men stood up, to the sounds of much less applause, but ecstatic clapping from their Headmaster. "The Selvamago Institute Lethifolds!" seven Brazilian students rose from their seats, and got much applause – Albus also shuddered at the name. "The Mahoutokoro School of Magic Demiguises!" seven Japanese students – all girls – joined the rest of the team in standing, and mostly boys applauded profusely. "The Uagadou School of Magic Erumpents!" seven African boys stood, and a few people clapped. "The Beauxbatons Academy of Magic Chimaeras!" seven Beauxbatons students, including three stunningly pretty girls, rose from their seats, and almost the entirety of the hall cheered. "The Durmstrang Institute Basilisks!" seven northerners arose, and applause and whispers of, "That's Krum's son," or, "Did you hear Viktor Krum's kid is playing?" filled the hall. "And of course, the Hogwarts School Dragons!" the reaction was better than expected, as everyone in the hall clapped as hard as they could. They could see that Hogwarts was a worthy rival. Albus rose from his seat, standing firm and tall next to his fellow Quidditch players, and for once in his life he felt united with the other Houses. No more different ties or scarves; for the remainder of the year, Hogwarts students were united under the colors of gold and silver.

"Thank you all for that warm welcome," continued Canton as the applause died down. "Each team will be attending lessons based on their grade level, and they will dorm with a student group already assigned to them. The first matches will take place the weekend after next, with Hogwarts versus Uagadou, and Durmstrang versus Mahoutokoro. The following weekend will host the next matches, those of Beauxbatons versus Selvamago, and Koldovstoretz versus Aquila. I certainly hope that this event will prove to be internationally cooperative, and that we all will make many new friends. Now, if Aquila Academy would please show our guests to the dining hall, we have a feast to devour."


End file.
